Lists by Annette Dashofy

Depending on what time you’re reading this on Sunday, April 27, I’ll either still be at Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland, or I’ll be on my way home. The Agathas will have been awarded. Not to me, since I’m not nominated this year, but perhaps to one of our other fabulous Writers Who Kill. I don’t know, because as I’m writing this, none of it has happened yet. I’m still in the process of packing and preparing. 

I’m not doing a lot of traveling this year for a number of reasons, but I have two conferences fairly close together. First is Malice, then next month will be the Pennwriters Conference. No matter how many trips I’ve taken in past years, the first one after a long layoff is always a challenge. 

It’s like I’ve never packed for three nights before! What will I forget? Will I have to stop on the way or leave the hotel to find a store to purchase some necessary item? 

So I’m making a list. Checking it twice. Three times? Four? And it’s not simply the stuff I need to take with me. Shoes. Pajamas. Coordinated outfits proper for a business convention. Toothbrush. Makeup. Books that the bookseller couldn’t get and I have to place on consignment. My computer. And—oh, my gosh, don’t forget—the charger cords! 

No, there are also the things I need to prepare for my husband and cat in order for them to survive while I’m gone. Groceries that don’t take too much preparation. A daily lineup of the pills my husband takes. And a sufficient supply of the pills he has to give Kensi. 

Speaking of, there needs to be a list of instructions of what to feed her when. What time she gets said pills. Emergency numbers… 

Okay, maybe my cat isn’t the only one who suffers separation anxiety. I mean, just because I demand a daily proof-of-life photo of Kensi while I’m away doesn’t mean anything. Right? 

Oh, and the shoes I mentioned earlier? I bought two new pairs. You’d think I’d know better by now. Break shoes in before wearing them at a conference. But no. My old shoes are scuffed beyond reason. They’ve been delegated to grocery shopping trips. I have been teetering around the house wearing my yoga pants and my new heels, trying to determine if they’re comfortable enough for the long walk from the hotel to the conference center (under the same roof, but still a long hike). I think I’ll stuff a pair of comfy flats in a tote bag to carry with me to the banquet and switch right before I enter the ballroom. 

Although this trip will be all but over by the time you read this, I do have that second one coming up. I’d love to hear your advice for packing and for dealing with the family and pets left behind.

 

 

Celebrations

By Annette Dashofy 

February has proven to be a banner month for me. I received my seventh Agatha Award nomination for Helpless. It never gets old. Okay, so maybe LOSING is getting a little old, if I’m to be completely honest, but the adage “It’s an honor to be nominated” is absolutely the truth. 

Being nominated in the company of four good friends in the mystery community (Tara Laskowski, Gigi Pandian, Ellen Byron, and Korina Moss) makes it all the sweeter. 

A week or so ago, I signed a contract with One More Chapter (HarperCollins UK) for three more Detective Honeywell Mysteries. Having a series picked up for additional books is always a milestone, especially when you’re enjoying writing it as much as I am.

The first book in this contract (the third in the overall series) is due to my editor in five days! No, I’m not a superhero. I was already writing it before the contract negotiations even began. The reason for celebration, though, is that one week ago, I finished the third draft of it! I’m sitting on it right now and will reopen the file in a couple of days to maybe tweak a word here or there, but overall, it’s DONE. 

At least until my first round of developmental edits arrive in a month or so. 

I have a bit of a gap before the next book is due, and I’d planned all along to take March “off.” Oh, who am I kidding? My brain will be spiraling, and I’ll be jotting notes the whole time. But I need to get my accounting in order for my appointment with my tax accountant in a few weeks. And I need to make a bunch of phone calls and sort through the mess of insurance and investment information surrounding my husband’s impending retirement. AND I have more phone calls to make to line up workers for an upcoming home improvement matter. 

None of this sounds like a celebration, does it? 

I love hearing stories about writers celebrating their victories, be it finishing a first draft (or a chapter or a scene…all reasons to celebrate!) or signing a contract or being nominated for a major award. It sounds like so much fun. Yet, I rarely do. Finish a book? Great! Get busy and start the next one. Sign a contract? Yay! Start planning my schedule and figure out how many pages I need to write each day to meet the deadline. Receive a nomination? Hooray! Enjoy all the congratulatory messages on social media…during breaks from writing. 

I confess, I did enjoy a REAL celebration when I won the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for Death By Equine. The next evening, while still in Kentucky where the awards were handed out, my husband and I went out for dinner. A nice dinner. An order-whatever-you-want dinner. 

You’re probably wondering what, if anything, I did to celebrate this bountiful month. I binge-watched a bunch of episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles that I hadn’t seen before. It may not sound like much, but considering I’d normally have turned off the TV after one episode so I could get back to writing, sitting back in the recliner with my cat (Kensi, named after Kensi Blye from that very TV show) felt decadent.

What about you? Do you celebrate victories large and small? If so, what is your idea of a celebration? 

AUTHOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM A FAN CONVENTION

by Korina Moss 

What a difference a year makes. A few weeks ago, I attended Malice Domestic, a weekend-long mystery fan convention in Bethesda, MD. Mystery writers and readers, alike, get to attend panels on topics ranging from Nancy Drew to book influencers, sit in on interviews with blockbuster authors like Ann Cleeves and Hank Phillippi Ryan, and get your favorite mysteries signed. It’s a chance to meet, literally, hundreds of mystery authors. I also get to catch up with my writer friends who I mostly only get to see at occasions like this one. When I attended my first Malice last year, I was one of the new kids—my first book had just been published a few weeks prior. This year I have three books published and that first book, Cheddar Off Dead, was among the nominees for an Agatha Award! Here are some highlights of events I participated in at Malice Domestic 2023.

Malice Go-Round  

Photo credit: Dorothy McFalls

Think speed dating for books. My friend and fellow cozy mystery author, Rosalie Spielman, and I partnered up to participate. A total of 26 authors, in pairs, had two minutes each to pitch our books to a tableful of readers eager to add to their TBR list. Sounds simple enough, right? Multiply that by 23 tables, which was how many tables we visited in 90 minutes. Since each table of readers would be getting two new authors every four and a half minutes, Rose and I decided to liven up our pitches. Rose writes two series, one set in Hawaii (Aloha Lagoon) and one set in Idaho (Hometown Mysteries), so she literally changed hats as she spoke about each. I write the Cheese Shop Mystery series, so I wore an apron with a quote from my protagonist: “I firmly believe most of life’s problems can be solved with cheese.” We think the humorous visuals were appreciated and we had a blast. 

Author Panel: Agatha Best First Novel Nominees 

I had the honor of being nominated this year for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel for the initial book in my Cheese Shop Mystery series, Cheddar Off Dead. The Agatha Award celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. My fellow nominees were M.A. Monnin (Death in the Aegean), Rob Osler (Devil’s Chew Toy), Harini Nagendra (The Bangalore Detective’s Club), Joan Long (The Finalist), and Nina Wachsman (The Gallery of Beauties). The panel was moderated by last year’s Agatha Award winner in the same category for Arsenic and Adobo, Mia P. Manansala. It was a fun panel where we shared our inspirations, our difficulties, and our moment of disbelief in being nominated for the award. 

Book Dealer Room 

Author SK Golden getting her books signed
Photo credit: Dale T. Phillips

You know how you go into a Target intending to buy some toothpaste and a laundry basket, and leave with $126 worth of impulse purchases? The Book Dealer Room was my Target, where any ounce of self-control (and the knowledge that my TBR list was already about 50 books deep) flew out the window. The bookseller for this event was Mechanicsburg Mysteries, an independent bookshop located in Mechanicsburg, PA. Not only did they have the participating authors’ books available, the authors were there during their scheduled times to sign their books. As I mentioned, I bought more books than planned and was able to get most of them signed. As an author, I enjoyed meeting readers who were excited to start or continue my series, and I was thrilled when a short line formed for my signing and I sold out of books! 

The Agatha Awards Banquet 

with author Daphne Silver

This was the highlight of my weekend, as I took home the teapot as the winner of this year’s Agatha Award for Best First Novel. It was a feeling like I’d never experienced (such a happy shock!). As I mentioned in my acceptance speech, to win an award named after Agatha Christie is a full-circle moment for my 12-year-old self. That was the age I read my first Agatha Christie novel—The ABC Murders—and wanted to become a mystery novelist to be able to do what she does. Well, I’m still working toward being able to do what the Queen of Crime does, but becoming a mystery novelist came true with the publication of Cheddar Off Dead. As the win continued to sink in throughout the evening, I held onto the gratitude of feeling so embraced by the mystery writing and reading community. The joy everyone had for me capped off an incredibly rewarding weekend. 

If you’re a reader of mysteries, an as-yet-published mystery writer, or a published mystery author, I highly recommend attending next year’s Malice Domestic, which will take place April 26-28, 2024. I’ll be there and I’d love to see you! 

Missing Malice by Annette Dashofy

Today is the day I and many of my fellow Writers Who Kill should be packing up and heading home from Bethesda, Maryland, after a weekend of laughter, hugs, drinks at the bar, and mingling with readers and friends. This was the weekend for Malice Domestic, the annual mystery convention that feels more like a family reunion than a business trip.

I don’t think I’m alone in mourning its cancelation. Having been a conference coordinator once, many years ago, I have some idea of the work that goes on to plan something like this. As heartbroken as I am, I know the Malice and Agatha planning committees are feeling it even harder. THANK you to all the volunteers. We should plan to buy each of them drinks next year.

This year will be one for the history books. The year the world stood still. While I’ve been participating in virtual events, book clubs, and writers meetings, and while I love connecting through the various online platforms with readers who might never get to come to a convention or book launch, I miss the face-to-face time and the hugs. (Will we ever hug again?)

So, since we couldn’t be together this weekend and since I can’t share all the new memories, I’m sharing photos from past Malice Domestics. And I’m looking forward to 2021 when (hopefully!) we can be together again, sharing stories and looking back on the year that wasn’t.

These first shots are from 2014.

Simply the Best Panel: the nominees for
Best Contemporary Novel

New Kids on the Block Panel: the nominees
for Best First Novel

Fellow Writer Who Kills (and travel buddy)
Martha Reed, the awesome Hank Phillippi Ryan,
and me.

Martha and her "newly found twin sister."

That's Jim Jackson, one of our former
Writers Who Kill with me after my
first ever Malice panel!

The following pictures are from 2015 when I was nominated for the Agatha for Best First Novel! Mind totally blown.

New Kids on the Block Panel: Agatha
nominees for Best First Novel
(Mind still blown)

Cinderella at the Ball with my Pittsburgh Sisters
(and Mister!) in Crime cheering section!

2016. Color me gobsmacked. I was again nominated for an Agatha, this time for Best Contemporary. I knew I didn't stand a chance in the presence of these ladies, so there was absolutely NO pressure.

Simply the Best Panel: Agatha nominees
for Best Contemporary Novel

I love Catriona McPherson!

Hanging out with good pals
Edith Maxwell and Joyce Tremel

Moving on to 2017

Simply the Best:
nominees for Best Contemporary Novel

New Kids on the Block:
nominees for Best First Novel

Rural Mysteries Panel
(and me going all fangirl over Anne Hillerman!)

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Two amazing winners! Catriona McPherson
for Best Historical and Cynthia Kuhn for
Best First Novel!

2018 and another nomination!

Our own Debra Goldstein speaking
at the Guppies breakfast

Malice-Go-Round

Panel for Best Short Story nominees

Opening Ceremonies and the nominees
for Best Contemporary Novel
(I keep incredible company!)

Dressed up for the banquet

Pre-banquet cocktail party

Which brings us to 2019

More than anything, Malice is about
spending time with friends

 

Simply the Best Panel: nominees for
Best Contemporary Novel

Just a few of the Writers Who Kill

Getting silly before the banquet

Peter W.J. Hayes at the New Authors Breakfast

Attendees at the New Authors Breakfast

Thanks for the memories. See you (I hope!) in 2021!

And the Agatha Award winners are:

Best Contemporary Novel: The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
Best First Novel: One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski
Best Historical Novel: Charity's Burden by Edith Maxwell
Best Nonfiction: The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton
Best Young Children/Young Adult: The Last Crystal by Frances Schoonmaker
Best Short Story: "The Last Word" by Shawn Reilly Simmons 

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!!!